The planet is nearing a climate disaster, and the current strategies to tackle this issue are inadequate. Without significant action in this decade to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors, the target of limiting the temperature rise to 1.5°C is jeopardized, risking the lives of over 3 billion people. Inaction will result in more severe heatwaves, droughts, floods, wildfires, rising sea levels, and famines. Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG-13): Climate Action focuses on mitigating the effects of global warming and its repercussions on the climate.
This blog post highlights research from European Union-funded researchers, published on Open Research Europe, that contributes to achieving SDG-13.
How can policy and policymaking foster climate justice? A qualitative systematic review
Climate change research has outlined essential needs for policy and policymaking: significant transformations aimed at promoting ‘climate justice,’ which encompasses a ‘just transition’ toward environmental sustainability with fair processes and outcomes. Despite this, a significant disparity exists between these needs and the policies and policy processes currently in place.
In a Systematic Review published as part of the Adaptation to Climate Change Collection, authors highlight a significant gap between the established requirements for policy and policymaking aimed at fostering climate justice and the actual policies and processes in place, emphasizing the need for transformational changes. The Systematic Review analyzes 108 peer-reviewed articles and discusses the need for more meaningful engagement with policy theories to better understand and address unjust processes and outcomes in climate policymaking.
Read the full Systematic Review here.
An increase in global daily precipitation records in response to global warming based on reanalysis and observations
In recent decades, observations have shown changes in the frequency and intensity of rainfall, which can be linked to global warming. Previous literature indicates that there are significant positive trends observed over most continental regions, and that areas (or the number of stations) of significant increase are much larger and more widespread across continents than areas of decrease.
In this Brief Report, authors from the University of Malta and Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) analyze record-breaking daily precipitation events from 1980 to 2020 and reveal a consistent and statistically significant increase in such events globally. The findings support the hypothesis of intensified hydrological cycles, proposed in previous literature, are due to global warming, and emphasises the need for regional analyses in climate impact studies.
Read the full Brief Report here.
Geothermal Energy Impact Estimator: A software application for estimating the life-cycle environmental impacts of geothermal energy
Geothermal energy is a renewable resource derived from the Earth’s natural heat, originating from its formation and continually replenished. Unlike solar and wind energy, geothermal power is not affected by seasonal or climatic changes. This characteristic makes geothermal energy a promising option for accelerating decarbonization in the power generation sector and transitioning to a low-carbon economy, which is essential for addressing and preventing the long-term impacts of global warming.
Researchers at University College London and TWI Ltd. have developed a user-friendly software application designed to calculate the life-cycle environmental impacts, including carbon emissions, of geothermal energy plants using Life Cycle Assessment methodology. The Geothermal Energy Impact Estimator aims to assist geothermal companies and policymakers, with specific use cases demonstrated for existing plants in Iceland and the UK.
Read the full Software Tool Article here.
Discover further research from authors related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, as part of the Sustainable Development Community Gateway.
